Fine for Corus Steel
05/01/12: A multi-national steel company has been sentenced following 2 workers suffering serious injuries when a 300 kg warehouse door collapsed on them.
The men were both working for Corus at their Workington plant where they were repairing a large roller shutter when the door and its supporting pillar collapsed.
A HSE investigation found that the company, which has since been renamed Tata Steel, had failed to carry out a suitable risk assessment, thereby putting the lives of employees in danger.
Both the men were maintenance fitters and each sustained serious breaks to their legs in the accident which happened in April 2009.
The collapsed structure also hit Anthony Ryecroft who was 51 at the time on the head and rendered him unable to work for over a year afterwards.
His colleague, Geoff Anderson who was 59 didn’t return to work and has subsequently taken voluntary redundancy.
Workington Court was told that Corus had no system in place to ensure their maintenance staff had planned and were carrying out work correctly.
The court also heard that the two men had been asked to mend the door after it had been hit by a forklift and caused it to stick. They had removed some nuts from the pillar when it collapsed.
Tata Steel was fined more than £13K and received a cost order for over £11K after they admitted breaches of H&S legislation.
A HSE spokesperson commented that 2 men sustained serious and long term injuries because the firm they worked for failed to ensure their safety.
Mr. Ryecroft could have potentially been killed, despite wearing a hard hat; he still sustained a serious cut to his head as well as some other serious injuries.
The repair could have been executed safely by removing the slat guide on the shutter door to allow it to have been wound up. However, the work wasn’t correctly planned in line with the company’s procedures.
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